Card ranks
Suited cards
- Highest card of the lead suit wins.
- Black (Jolly Roger) trumps other suits when not the lead suit.
- Among black cards, highest rank wins.
- Off-suit standard cards (when you could not follow) do not win unless no competing card beats them.
Special hierarchy
When specials compete (no Whale effect):
| Winner over… | Card |
|---|---|
| Suited cards | Pirate |
| Pirate | Skull King |
| Skull King | Mermaid |
| Mermaid | Pirate |
Ties among same special: first played wins (e.g. two Pirates → first Pirate played wins).
Escape
- Escape always loses to any other card.
- If all cards played are Escape (or Tigress-as-Escape), first Escape played wins.
Tigress
When played, declare Pirate or Escape:
- As Pirate — follows Pirate rules.
- As Escape — follows Escape rules.
Triple character trick
If Pirate + Skull King + Mermaid appear in the same trick:
- Mermaid wins the trick.
- Only the Mermaid captures Skull King bonus applies (not Pirate→King).
Capture bonuses
When you win a trick containing certain characters (and make your bid), you earn bonuses. See Scoring.
Related
- Trick resolution — full decision tree
- Leading specials
- Advanced cards — Kraken and Whale change resolution